Steam-piston packing



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL P. HINGKLEY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.v

STEAM-PISTON PACKING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,423, dated December26, 1893.

Applicationfiled July 3, 1893. Serial No. 479| (N0 11105813 To all whomit may concern:

3e it known that I, SAMUEL P. HINOKLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-PistonPacking; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to packing for steam piston heads and piston valvesand relates to the application of a metallic ring in such manner thatthe pressure of the steam upon the ring is modified by friction againstthe filling rlng.

lleretofore, in devices of this general description, it has been usualto apply the packing ring so that it shall incline toward the center ofthe piston head; this arrangement or structure has been foundobjectionable because of the thrusting or pushing out of the packingtoward the center inthe direction of the current of steam. By myinvention all this trouble is obviated because the packing being placedin the opposite direction the action or movement of it is retarded bythe inclination of the ring toward the edge of the piston head andagainst the direction in which the steam enters.

Having now briefly stated the aim and scope of my present invention, Iwill proceed to describe the same in detail.

In the drawings: Figure 1. is an end view of the piston head. Fig. 2. isa side elevation of the same. Fig. 3. is a section of the cylinder andpiston head through the line y, y of Fig. 1.

The piston is indicated by the letter a and is of the ordinaryconstruction, that isto say, j, are the filling rings, between which is.a junk ring d, which is held in position by means of the follower b. Ihave constructed the junk ring d, as shown in the drawings, in formsimilar to a screw, the stem being straight while the head flares out oneither side. On either side of the head of the junk ring, a recess isformed in the filling ring, the line of the bottom of the recess beingparallel with the face of the piston head, while the sides are parallelwith the flaring sides of the head of the junk ring. Within the recessesthus formed are inserted the steam packing rings 0 conforming in shapeto the recesses v just described. See Fig. 3. It will be noticed that bythis construction the packing inclines toward the edges of the pistonhead. The rings are made continuous in the ordinary manner to allowcontraction and expansion.

The operation of the device will be readily perceived. Assuming thesteam to enter the cylinder below the piston head, as shown in Fig. 3.of the drawings, the steam instantly passes in beneath the lower packingring 0 and between it and the filling ring thus pushing out the ring sothat its edge is firmly in contact with the wall of the cylinder. At theend of the stroke, admission of the steam at the other end of thecylinder pushes the other or upper ring against the wall of the cylinderin the same manner. As the action of the steam in forcing out the ringpressesit against the inclined plane formed by the flaring head of thejunk ring, more or less resistance is exerted by the inclined planeagainst the too rapid movement of the ring 0, which is thus preservedfrom rapid wearing away against the wall of the cylinder. Heretofore,the faces of the junk ring have been straight and continuous ofieringslight, if any, resistance to the movement of the packing, which hasthus been set with great force against the wall of the cylinder andsubjected to constant Wear.

What I claim as my invention is- In a steam piston head,the combinationof a junk ring with outwardly flaring sides and a packing ring havingsides parallel or substantially parallel with said flaring sides,whereby said ring inclines outwardly toward the edges of the pistonhead, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I havehereuntoset my hand this 26th day of J one, A. D. 1893.

SAMUEL P. H'INCKLEY,

In presence of- A. O. BERRY, GEO. E. BIRD.

